Bill Cullen: Golden Apples

I heard (the real) Bill Cullen on Ray D’arcy’s show yesterday. He’s very funny but wow, what energy! Ray said he had to lie down and rest after talking to him! At the ages of 63 he wants to be the first Irishman (disputed in two comments in this link) into space and has already paid a deposit on his ticket. I heard he hopes to raise at least 1 million Euro for charity by doing this!

Ian Dempsey’s show just played an excellent Gift Grub taking the piss this morning. Listen for the repeat tomorrow morning if you missed it!

If you’re wondering what all this is about, take a look about the Internet for more..

Bill Cullen is a genius. He started his empire when he was a boy were he sold fruit, vegetables & shirley Temple immitation dolls in Dublin city. His grandmother inspired him a great deal.

I was driving to work one morning & he was been interviewed on the Eamonn Dunphy show. He was very interesting to listen to & then I heard he was doing book signings that day & one was beside were I worked. I decided to go & buy a copy of his book Golden Apples. He was a gentleman & was talking to everyone.

People have some nerve calling him a “knob” and a “joke”. He left school at 13 and worked his way up to director general of a Ford dealership, he then bought the rights to Renault Ireland and turned an â‚¬18m debt into a hugely successful company.

He gives so much to charity, is constantly doing promotional talks in schools and colleges and sponsors young entrepreneurs ans athletes.

People should really do a bit of research before they write comments like that. Bill is an inspiration.

I met Bill Cullen in Jan. and i have to say that i was not impressed. He is full of his own self importance, clearly aware he has more money than he needs and behaves as if he owns the world. I much prefer the Dr. Bill of gift grub, hob nobbing wit de nobs an dat!!!!!!!!
Reminds me of an uncle of mine who “made it” from a poor background himself. He now has nothing but contempt for those he left behind, and i’m sad to say it includes family too.

I worked with Bill for 2 years. I knew him from when i was 13 when he was my official sponser in table tennis.
To say he isn’t wealthy is a joke… The man has been turning over â‚¬300 million for the last ten or so years. He owns a house worth a few million, owns the land were all the dealerships are based including Nissan and opel in Liffey Valley, has a spa resort in Wicklow and a 5 star hotel in Kerry. Oh and he is next door neighbours with Tiger woods in Florida!
The man is loaded and as down to earth as you can expect for someone with as much money as he does.. Yeah he is self centred and like the sound of his voice but name a multi millionaire who isn’t… I met Paul Mccartney, who is said to be the most down to earth guy around, and he is but hey he didnt shut up talking about himself

Bill is an inspiration…he came to talk in college and the energy is unbelievable. Sure he has money but by god does he deserve it…does anyone that criticises him get up before 6 to exercise?or turn up for work first and leave last?do you leave things till last minute or do them straight away…so before you comment point out another working class Irish man from the 40’s that is as successful.

He’s RIDICULOUSLY full of himself! “It’s a long way from penny apples” is one of the most egotistical books I have ever read. I mean he wrote it in the 3rd person! As in, Liam was always very bright etc. etc. Personally I’d prefer to go out and enjoy my life instead of sitting in an office on New Year’s Eve licking envelopes.

The Golden Compass
First of a three part fantasy/sci-fi series. Some people hate it because of it's anti God message but it's a great read. I found it hard to put down. There's even a Snopes article about the film adaptation.